Sometimes it’s hard for me to sit down and write, especially when the sun is out and there are snook lurking in my mind. I have been obsessed with redfish and snook for some time now. I have boxes of flies tied, hours of YouTube videos watched, books purchased and read, trips booked and canceled because of weather, and well for a while I thought I might just have an awesome supply of flies that are never going to be fished. But it did happen, many of saltwater trips have happened, tarpon, bonefish, redfish, but still until this week no snook.

As I sit here in Florida and write you this short story, my mind is at peace (for the moment).

I have finally held my first snook, caught a redfish on a Roamer, and went tight to a couple nice trout. We came down to relax and get away from the snow, but that was far from what happened. I spent hours in the truck, hours on google earth, hours tying flies, waking up hours before sunrise, and as I write this list, I realize, ha, yup that is relaxing to me.

There were no trophies caught, but definitely some hero shots taken!

I met up with a good friend who spends his winters down here and he showed me around with a lot of success for less than ideal conditions. When the schedule allowed for it, and I couldn’t meet up with my buddy, I was in a kayak exploring new water. Hoping with each cast to have something besides an oyster shell pull back.

There is a solid possibility, after my amazing time down here, and my ever-growing urge to explore, that a couple boat companies have been emailed about getting a price quote. (Wide Eyed emoji placed here)

Is relentless fly fishing going to do some wintertime expanding to Florida? Who knows, but I’m already planning my next trip down here.